A powerful earthquake struck off Peru’s coast early Sunday, destroying adobe structures and killing two person, according to officials.
The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the 4:18 a.m. (0918 GMT) temblor had a magnitude of 7.1, down from an earlier calculation of 7.3. The epicenter was 25 miles (40 kilometres) south-southwest of the small town of Acari in the Arequipa district. It was centred 22 miles (36 kilometres) below the surface.
Arequipa Gov. Yamila Orosio tweeted that at least one person was killed and that there were reports of power outages and collapsed adobe structures.
The U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially warned that “hazardous tsunami waves are forecast for some coasts” and that larger-than-normal waves could hit Peru and Chile. But the centre then said in a later statement that “there is no longer a tsunami threat from this earthquake” and that the centre hadn’t observed any tsunami waves.